Off With Their Heads by Mainak Dhar Page B

take them off when Neha’s hand gently tousled his hair. Her touch sent a jolt through him.
    ‘I think you look cute in these.’
    Neha laughed but then Neil noticed a change in her tone as she touched his shoulder.
    ‘Neil, you’re bleeding!’
    Neil looked at his hand, still bloody from the scratch he had suffered at Neha’s apartment. ‘Relax, it’s just a scratch.’
    ‘No, I mean up here.’
    Neil caught the tension in her voice and took a look in the mirror near him. There was a red patch on his left shoulder. He dropped the rod and peeled back his shirt. His shoulder was covered in a thin film of blood. He wiped some of it away to reveal puncture wounds.
    ‘Neil, did they get close enough to…’
    Neha did not dare complete the sentence, but the moment Neil saw the wound, the same thought had burned itself into his mind. Had he been bitten? He could not remember it, but then the struggle below Neha’s apartment had been so savage that he had not really been conscious of much other than swinging his rod at the nearest Biter he could see. He had assumed the pain in his shoulder was from the exertion of the fight. But now, looking at the wound, he was beginning to have doubts. He looked at Neha, his eyes filling with tears.
    ‘How long do I have? Have you read anything on the Internet?’
    He could see that Neha was starting to cry as well and sobs racked her body as she tried to turn away. ‘Maybe it’s just a cut.’
    Neil got up, holding her shoulders so that she was forced to look straight into his eyes. ‘How long do I have?’
    Neha spoke in little more than a whisper, seemingly forcing each word out. ‘They say that the speed at which the infection takes hold depends on how deep the bite is and the number of bites. Some people with minor bites thought they had got away but became Biters after three or four hours. People who are bitten repeatedly turn pretty much immediately.’
    Neil looked at his watch. He had been bitten perhaps thirty minutes ago. Even assuming he had a couple of hours, the best he could hope was to get Neha to the safety of the airport, and then what? He had met many brave boys and girls during his work with Make-A-Wish, and he had marveled at their strength in the face of terminal illnesses. He found his knees buckling and realized that he did not have that same strength. Of course, they had months or perhaps years to go – he did not even have one day.
    He just sat there for a few seconds, Neha squatting in front of him, her hands on his shoulders. His mind was numb, with fear, with self-pity, with regret for all the things he would never be able to do. He looked up into Neha’s tear-filled eyes, and felt a renewed resolve. Neha must have seen the change in his expression.
    ‘What’s wrong?’
    He stood up, and finished filling his bike’s tank, and then looked at Neha.
    ‘If I drive really fast, I can probably get you to the airport in thirty minutes. So we should still have time before anything happens to me. But before that, will you grant me one last wish?’
    Neha burst into tears. ‘Neil, maybe it’s just a cut…’
    Neil held her shoulders and she hugged him.
    ‘You know better than that. Now, we don’t have a lot of time. Will you fulfill my wish?’
    Neha fought back her tears and nodded.
    ‘I was thinking of asking you out for a coffee after the party today. Will you go out with me on a date? I don’t have much money, I don’t look like much, but I do have these funky bunny ears and I am currently the world champion in the game of Biter Swatting with my rod here.’
    Neha laughed and hugged him tight.
    ‘Lead the way, my bunny-eared hero. Where shall we have our date?’
    And so they sat in an abandoned Pizza Hut. They didn’t eat or drink anything, but just sitting there, holding hands, made Neil forget, if only for a moment, what he was faced with. For that fleeting moment, he was living his dream.
    They talked about their families, their dreams.